RPA Debuts New Work for ARCO

RPA recently debuted a new campaign for recently-won client ARCO, following Tesoro’s purchase of ARCO from BP.

The campaign celebrates ARCO’s “top tier” designation, as its gasoline “exceeds EPA minimum detergent requirements to help clean engines and maintain optimal vehicle performance.” To highlight the benefits of treating your car right with ARCO gasoline, RPA chose to show some of the ways mistreat their vehicles in a series of four 30-second broadcast spots.

The light-hearted approach works best in “Treat” (featured above), when a woman decides “If top-tier gas at ARCO helps clean my engine, maybe I should clean the rest of my car.” She then imagines all the hard work inherent in undoing the neglect, including some pretty gross tasks, before tossing an empty coffee cup in the backseat and deciding “I’ll do that another time.”

Other spots in the campaign take a similar approach, with “Embarassing” focusing on some of the moments your car shouldn’t have to witness and “Mishap” taking on minor vehicular abuse. “Try It” changes things up, focusing instead on a couple’s misguided decision to go somewhere other than ARCO for gas. Each spot ends with the tagline, ““Your car puts up with a lot. Help protect it from harmful engine deposits. ARCO has quality TOP TIER® gas for less.” emphasizing ARCO’s quality and top tier designation. The campaign began last month with one broadcast spot and an outdoor component, and currently supports the four broadcast spots with online and radio elements, as well as a revamped website.

“We have a long history working on the ARCO brand, and appreciate the challenges of the competitive motor-fuel category,” said RPA EVP, Management Account Director Tom Kirk. “The agency’s goal is to further support ARCO’s brand positioning, and this new work focuses on ARCO’s holistic value proposition around product quality and affordability.” (more…)

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RPA, Tool Share Terrible Parenting for Newport Beach Film Festival

RPA teamed up with production company tool for a new campaign celebrating Newport Beach Film Festival’s 15th anniversary entitled “15 Years Under the Influence.”

The centerpiece of the campaign is a short film called “Bedtime Story.” In the two and a half minute video, directed by Tom Routson, a daughter asks her father to read her a story before bed. The father begins a story about “a beautiful princess who lived in a magical castle far, far away,” but soon finds himself bored with the story and strays from the narrative, deciding that the princess is not actually a princess but a “beautiful operating system” (referencing Spike Jonze’s Her). From there his story bounces all over the place, referencing memorable moments in independent film from the last 20 years or so, with a rather gory ending. Somehow, through all this his daughter manages to fall asleep, making the display of truly awful parenting seem almost sweet. In addition to its home online, the film will screen during this year’s festival in Newport Beach, which will take place from April 24th-May 1st. Stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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Nissan Wants You to Open ‘The Briefcase’

Nissan’s new online initiative “The Briefcase” courtesy of TBWA\Chiat\Day LA features a high octane car chase (starring the new 2014 Nissan Rogue) ending in a click through to a contest offering contestants the chance to win one of three 2014 Rogues.

The video opens with a man getting in a hired car for his usual commute home from work. When a motorcycle pulls up and hands off a briefcase to the driver, however, all hell breaks loose. Soon everyone seems to be after the Rogue, including a helicopter that attempts to land on the car. In the end, they run into a blockade and a man shouts “Open the briefcase,” at which time viewers are prompted to click on a link to open it. This link clicks through to the contest on Nissan’s Facebook page. It’s a clever, interactive way to lead viewers to the contest, even if the video is a little over the top. Fans of the brand should enjoy having a background story going into the contest, where they can enter once per day, or more if they share information about the contest via email or social media — a pretty good way to incentivise sharing.

The contest begins today and runs through February 13th at 11:59 PM. You can enter the contest here for your chance to win a 2014 Nissan Rogue. Credits after the jump.

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